Contrast

Shot on yesterday's bike ride with my iPhone using the pro HDR app. As it came from the camera. I liked the contrast between the yellow and the deep blue skies. I could only get that out using multiple exposure techniques. The built-in camera app gave blah results even with the HDR option turned on.

A few Virginia waterfalls

Wispy, Nikon D300, ISO 200, Tokina 11-16 mm at 11mm, f/8.0, 1/4s, monopod stabilization.

For work I had to spend a few days mostly locked up in a conference room in the Wintergreen conference center in Virginia. This is a ski area in winter and as apparently is common on the east coast has its base on top of the mountain instead of at the foot as we see around here and in Europe. This place is very far away from anything (we drove 3 hours from Dulles having had really bad experiences with the Charlottesville airport, which itself is still over an hour away from this place anyway). The National Park that appears close on the map, Shenandoah, is still an hour away if you want to do a little hike there. So when I had a few minutes off (skipping lunch mostly) I spent most of the time hiking around the extensive trail system around the mountain usually taking a fellow conference goer. The front desk had a free hiking trail map that I can heartily recommend if you ever have to spend some time there. The trails are quite nice even if they are close to civilization everywhere you go. You simply don't notice because of the very dense foliage. I took lots of images as I took my camera and a monopod with me. The monopod works well for waterfalls as long as you simply press the shutter multiple times and hope one will be OK. Below I'll show some more waterfall images. I took a lot of dense foliage shots as they really intrigued me. You don't really see that around here. I'll post those later. There are a few already in the growing flickr set.


Green, Nikon D300, ISO 200, Tokina 11-16 mm at 13mm, f/8.0, 1/6s, monopod stabilization.
This place was buzzing with mosquitos as you might imagine.


Looking right through you, Nikon D300, ISO 200, Tokina 11-16 mm at 13mm, f/8.0, 1/15s, monopod stabilization.
Basically a vertical of the previous image. Somehow reminds me of Tolkien.


Stony Creek falls. I forgot the actual name of this place but it is not named on the topo.
Nikon D300, ISO 200, Tokina 11-16 mm at 11mm, f/16.0, 0.6s, monopod stabilization. Using a 3 stop ND.


Vertical compo on the same falls
Nikon D300, ISO 200, Nikon 18-55 mm at 20mm, f/22.0, 1/4s, monopod stabilization. Using a 3 stop ND.


The blog author at the falls. This image was taken by Oleg Prezhdo who joined me on this hike. I am using the monopod as a hiking stick here and I should have taken all the stuff (lenses and filters) out of my pant pockets since they look way too big nowadays.
Nikon D300, ISO 200, Nikon 18-55 mm at 18mm, f/4.5, 1/80s


Context, Nikon D300, ISO 200, Tokina 11-16 mm at 16mm, f/11.0, 0.6s, monopod stabilization.
The same waterfall as shown in the top image.


Wetness, Nikon D300, ISO 200, Tokina 11-16 mm at 14mm, f/8.0, 0.4s, monopod stabilization.


Staircase, Nikon D300, ISO 200, Tokina 11-16 mm at 13mm, f/11, 0.5s, monopod stabilization.


Turtle, Nikon D300, ISO 200, Tokina 11-16 mm at 11mm, f/2.8, 1/20s

I found this beautiful little turtle, right next to one of these waterfalls. If you go to the large on black version, you'll see his little eye peering out at what must have been a gigantic front lens element from his perspective.

Winter seaside evening

Diagonal
Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 mm f2.8 at 11 mm, ISO 200, f8.0, 1/250s

These are pictures taken when visiting the North Sea beach in Egmond aan Zee last winter. We were in the Netherlands on a bittersweet visit to see a family member diagnosed with a terminal disease. The night before we flew back, we decided to go to the beach as it is such a Dutch thing to do and our kids rarely see a real ocean beach. It was bitter cold and windy and there was snow on the ground but we had a great time finished off by a great cup of hot cocoa at a nice little coffee place right at the beach. Technically, these images would have been better if I had had my grad ND filters with me, but we were traveling light.
At this point, we were still thinking that we would likely never see our family member again so we felt rather melancholic, but by a miracle after we had already returned to the states, doctors discovered that the original diagnosis was not correct and it was operable and after a heavy but successful operation, he is currently cancer-free. Too many of our friends (three in recent months died of cancer) have not been that lucky recently so this was good news in a bad news time. Cancer is a nasty disease.


Disturbance
Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 mm f2.8 at 11 mm, ISO 200, f16, 1/160s


Nuclear furnace
Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 mm f2.8 at 11 mm, ISO 200, f16, 1/50s


ripples
Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 mm f2.8 at 11 mm, ISO 200, f16, 1/60s


Silver Birds
Nikon D300, Nikon 18-200 VR at 95 mm, ISO 200, f5.3, 1/400s


Yawn
Nikon D300, Nikon 18-200 VR at 170 mm, ISO 200, f5.6, 1/320s

A roof over one's head

D300, ISO 200, 18-200 mm VR, 95 mm, f5.3, 1/25s


D300, ISO 200, 18-200mm VR, 82 mm, f/5.0, 1/30s

Both taken last winter in the town where I grew up and where my mother still lives.

Wet Spring Late Flowers

From yesterday's bike ride. iPhone picture. I used the pro HDR iphone app.